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It is not just the futility of eight years of fighting in Iraq, frustration in Afghanistan, the loss of thousands of soldiers' lives and the maiming of tens of thousands more that are causing so much doubt over a US attack on Syria now.
As the bombardment continues, it's the futility of it all that's so deafening.
The outcome had been widely expected; minority leader Harry Reid had already signalled Democrats would vote against the measure, describing it as "the very definition of an exercise in futility".
"... the quantity of pro-Kremlin trolling on this topic … which has been documented extensively since 2012 as a real and insidious threat to online communities of idea and debate, has rendered commenting on these articles all but meaningless, and a worthless exercise in futility and frustration for anyone not already being mind-controlled by the Kremlin".
Jezebel called out its futility , long before it was outed as a hoax: Last summer's viral ALS Ice Bucket challenge has given way to this year's contender for 'worst way to make anyone aware of anything while showing off your body', the aptly named 'Hold a Coke With Your Boobs Challenge'.
The game ended with Wayne Rooney, one of the leading strikers of his generation, in central midfield while Marouane Fellaini moved into emergency striker mode and two of the world game's supposedly pre-eminent goal-getters, Radamel Falcao and Van Persie, simply added to the air of striking desperation and futility.
I had a little grizzle by the wall of ugly County Hall at the outrageous iniquity and possible futility of it all.
Related: Salman Rushdie slams critics of PEN's Charlie Hebdo tribute With this boycott the Charlie Hebdo debate has come to embody all the limitations, and now the futility , of the freedom of expression argument vis-a-vis Muslims in particular and minorities in general.
The studies by the Chicago academic Robert Pape in the 1990s on the futility or counter-productivity of almost all the century's 115 uses of sanctions have never been seriously challenged.
Their failure to do so will not convince them – at least not yet – of the futility of their armed campaigns, but it does put their influence in some perspective.
Politicians have learned nothing from the futility of their fight against conventional drugs – an abject failure that pours gold into the pockets of the globe's most vicious gangsters.
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The word "futility" functions primarily as a noun , denoting the quality of being futile or useless. Examples from Ludwig demonstrate its use in describing the state of being pointless , often in situations involving wasted effort or resources.
Expression frequency: Very common
